By Kurt Pfitzer, C1 Contributor
Reprinted with permission from Lehigh University.
A “first-of-its-kind” optimization model developed by engineers at Lehigh University is helping Pennsylvania’s Department of Corrections (PADOC) streamline inmate assignments to the state’s 25 correctional institutions.
PADOC officials say the Inmate Assignment Decision Support System (IADSS) has “transformed” the inmate assignment process in Pennsylvania and can do the same for state correctional agencies across the United States.
IADSS can make hundreds of inmate assignments in a few minutes, a task that requires hours when performed manually. The system is the product of five years of work by graduate students and faculty members in Lehigh’s department of industrial and systems engineering. Its developers say IADSS represents the first application of operations research to the assignment of prison inmates.
How the assignment system improves operations
PADOC currently has 46,800 inmates and annual expenditures of approximately $2.5 billion, or about 8 percent of the state’s total budget.
PADOC officials have been using IADSS for 10 months to help assign inmates and they plan to switch over completely by early next year. The system also helped reassign 2,000 inmates from the recently closed State Correctional Institute in Pittsburgh to other state prisons.
In a PADOC report, officials said IADSS has enabled the corrections department to achieve cost savings and improvements in four areas:
- Shorter waiting lists for treatment programs: This will reduce the length of time inmates remain in prison past their minimum sentence date.
- Fewer prison assaults: This has resulted from an improvement in assigning the right combination of inmates to the right prisons.
- Staffing: PADOC’s Office of Population Management requires less staff to oversee inmate assignments and transfers.
- Transportation: Inmates are assigned to the most appropriate institution the first time, reducing the need later for transfers of inmates to other prisons.
“Based on these four criteria,” the report said, “we believe that the IADSS has saved the PADOC, and thus saved Pennsylvania taxpayers, approximately $2.9 million during the first year, which will translate into approximately $19.2 million in savings over the next five years.”
“[IADSS] is the first model of its kind in the nation, and addresses an important problem that all large correctional departments face,” said PADOC Secretary John E. Wetzel. “Every year, my department receives approximately 11,000 new inmates who must be assigned to one of our 25 prisons around the state…[IADSS] has completely transformed our processes and is already leading to significant efficiency improvements and savings.”
How the system works
The heart of IADSS is its optimization module, which can assign hundreds of inmates to correctional institutions in just a few minutes. A graphic user interface allows access to information on inmates in the PADOC database, enables users to review and approve the optimal assignment, and provides several measures to evaluate assignment recommendations.
The optimization module enables IADSS to assign inmates – and to account for a variety of relevant factors – simultaneously. These factors include a prisoner’s age, hometown, offense, sentencing information, stability level, risk level, minimum and maximum dates of release, and medical and programming needs, as well the capacity and level of resources available at each institution.
IADSS also accounts for inmates’ functional limitations – whether they are hearing- or vision-impaired or use a wheelchair, etc.
Previously, DOC employees considered each of these factors one inmate at a time when making assignments to Pennsylvania’s correctional institutions.
Streamlining inmate transfers
In addition to new inmates, the DOC also oversees inmate transfers within the state prison system, says Nicklow.
“Every year, we receive about 50,000 petitions from our correctional institutions requesting a transfer of an inmate. Before the Lehigh model was developed, we looked at each inmate individually and evaluated all the factors regarding that inmate separately. This is a pretty cumbersome process.”
In assigning and transferring inmates, says Nicklow, IADSS considers the needs of each inmate and the resources – empty beds, security level, treatment programs and vacancies – that are available at each of the state’s correctional institutions.
“The Lehigh model looks at everything simultaneously and holistically. It makes the most appropriate recommendation for everybody based on the available resources,” Nicklow said. “The current process takes seven people most of a week to do this. Now this is achieved with the push of a button, and the outcomes are actually better.”
System improves inmate access to treatment programs
IADSS has also helped PADOC reduce the time inmates must wait for openings in treatment programs they are required to complete to qualify for parole or early release, says Nicklow.
“Our most difficult problem is the treatment program waiting list. The Lehigh model helps us prepare for parole hearings. We like to start programming about 10 months before the minimum sentencing date so that all the programs are completed when an inmate is released
“As a result of the Lehigh model, the start time for entering programs has been decreased. The model helps us make sure no one starts a program just before parole. It will also help us avoid having to transfer inmates from one facility to another to get into a program.”